Update # 2: Direct from Marvelous Molokai!

Bridge Hawaii Families and Friends,

Greetings from Windsor Mountain...
Bridge Hawaii is rockin! I spoke with Kate and Taya on the phone last night, and the trip is going so well that they were a bit hesitant to tell me just how smoothly everything is running--they didn't want to jinx themselves! However, they did tell me that the group is having an awesome time on Molokai, and that they have been working hard, playing harder, singing their voices out, and dancing like there's no tomorrow--from where we sit in the office here in Windsor, all that sounds just like a classic Windsor Mountain good time. The group has been running camp games with the kids at the Molokai Youth Center, going out on MMT's, as well as getting a little bit of education in edgewise: yesterday they visited an overlook where they were able to see the Leper Colony at Kalaupapa--one of the last such communities in the world. On the way home, they also visited the famous "Phallic Rock" (no explanation necessary). Legend has it that any female who touches this rock will instantly become extremely fertile, but...

!!!!!!!!DON'T WORRY NO ONE WENT ANYWHERE NEAR THAT ROCK!!!!!!!!

And now, without further ado, here are specific notes on each student, straight from an email sent in by Kate and Taya:

"Ava loved talking to Vicki (a local schoolteacher) and has been do a great job of helping the kids at the Molokai Youth Center with their reading skills.

Chef Allison has become our resident expert on how to cut exotic fruits we find. She is also treating us to her fabulous freestyle raps.

Zoe makes everyone look forward to the campfires by playing wonderful music every night and says that even though she already was friends with most of the people in the group, she is learning new things about everyone and making friends with the people she didn't already know.

Noah misses working on the Organic Farm on the Big Island, but has enjoyed Molokai quite a bit, particularly working with kids at the youth center and starting spontaneous group games. He has also amused everyone with his hoarse voiced alter-ego, Nathan Benjamin Goldbergowitz.

Margot was thrilled about going on an MMT and has been motivating members of the group to go running almost every day.

Ian is a fantastic dj to have during long car rides. He has been great at getting everyone in the group excited for everything and his energy is contagious.

Joe was leader of the day on Maslow's Day, and even though it was a day off with no planned activities, he did an amazing job of making sure there were plenty of unplanned activities for people to be entertained with, including a big game of ultimate frisbee.

Henry--Everyone at the youth center is begging to see his dancing skills and hear him sing. They also like climbing all over him during their down time. He is very popular there.

Julia was the leader of the day on Monday and took charge of thanking our host for the BBQ. She is very excited to welcome Adam and Ben to the group when they arrive on Thursday. She has also been expanding her culinary horizons gradually with the variety of different meals we've had.

Matt built a nice campfire for everyone last night. He really enjoyed teaching the purple lilacs song to a group of people during the MMT and when he ran into some of them in the grocery store they demanded an encore.

Nick tried his luck at spearfishing for the first time and caught a fish! He has impressed us so much with his positive attitude throughout the trip

Carey is a natural at working with the Youth Center kids helping them with art projects and just hanging out. This morning a bunch of the little girls decided it would be fun to dress him up and he was such a good sport. He is very helpful at food preparation, even when it is not his turn to cook."

That's all for now, folks. The group will welcome their final two members--Adam and Ben--on Thursday, just in time to spend the weekend at Uncle Moke's Hale, where they will learn how to prepare a traditional Hawaiian Luau, as well as listen to Moke's famous talk-stories. Moke is quite a character, and I can't wait to tell you all about him in our next email update, due to you next Wednesday, July 23rd. Also, all Bridge Hawaii students will call home next Tuesday, July 22nd. We are not 100% sure of the time of that call yet, but since Hawaii is six hours earlier than us here on the East Coast, it will most likely happen between 6pm and 10pm est. We will send out a quick email this weekend to let you know exactly when to expect the call.